Ask HN: When will LLMs generate professional-level CAD models?

Hi HN,

I have a 3D printer but I’m pretty bad at CAD. Using LLMs for coding has worked extremely well for me, so I’ve been trying to apply a similar workflow to CAD/modeling.

For simple functional parts (jigs, brackets, adapters, small fixtures), I can use an LLM + OpenSCAD in a loop: it writes OpenSCAD, I compile/render, I render a few views, the LLM “looks” at the images, and we iterate until it looks right. This is already helpful, but it hits a ceiling quickly. Anything beyond simple parametric primitives becomes painful (complex geometry, precise interfaces, assemblies, tolerances/fit, etc.).

I’m curious about two things. First: any intuition on when we’ll be able to generate models at a professional level, comparable to what LLMs can do for coding right now? Second: what will that workflow look like in practice? Will it stay mostly parametric (OpenSCAD / constraints), or will it look more like an interactive “CAD copilot” inside tools like SolidWorks/Fusion that can edit the feature tree via screenshot + click style interaction? Or something else entirely, like text turning into a full feature history with constraints and checks.

If you’re already doing this, what tools/workflows are giving the best results today, and where do they fail?

Thanks!

5 points | by dsrtslnd23 3 hours ago

2 comments

  • maouida 4 minutes ago
    I'm working on a parametric, feature based CAD by code software which should be released next month. LLMs are good at generating code. It should be able to handle any complex task given a good documentation. I'm planning to write an mcp for providing feedback to the LLM but that will come at a later stage.

    The code is based on js and opencascade with a feature rich vscode extension.

    I'll post it here on release day.

  • ecto 3 hours ago
    Hey there! I'm open sourcing https://campedersen.com/cad0 today! It's not professional-level yet (about a week old) but I think the next model generation could get there
    • sukinai 1 hour ago
      Will check it
    • dsrtslnd23 2 hours ago
      cool! I will check it out. What are your plans with this?